Opioids Varying Withdrawals

[Opiates4lyfe]

lately my opiate withdrawals have been rather odd.

BACKGROUND: I have been using oxycodone & hydrocodone about once or twice a week for about 3 years. Over this summer I had 2 surgeries and thus access to ample amounts of painkillers and kinda lost control. For about 3 months I was taking 140mgs of oxycodone and hydrocodone a day, 70mgs in the morning and 70mgs in the afternoon.

At one point, about 2 months into my binge, I had a 4 day period where I ran out of pills. Needless to say I went into withdrawals, with all the classic symptoms. For 4 days i felt like shit. Each day felt as bad as the previous, 2 of the nights I could not sleep. Never in that 4 day span did i feel the withdrawal symptoms start to ease. On the 5th day I got my refill and went back to using twice a day for another month.

NOW: I had been dreading the day when I would leave for college and no longer have access to my beloved opiates (at least not in the same quantity). I used up all the rest of my pills the night before move in to college. So move in day was day 1 of withdrawals. I felt exactly as crappy as I had during that 4 day period a month prior. Day 2 felt the same; terrible. Day 3 I wake up and I feel fine!? No muscle soreness, no restless legs, no depression!?

So what gives? Why was my withdrawal longer and worse 2 months into my binge than after 3 months into binge? I was totally expecting it to be worse after 3 months.

 

[UnspokenVoice]

Withdrawals are funny in my experience and that's funny as in odd not funny as in hilarious. I stopped using, I made it about a week that time, and the only symptom I had was insomnia. Normally when I take a break/attempt to quit I get all the effects from vomiting to diarrhea to muscle aches/spasms and even the runny nose (which really is odd as I'm not a snorter). This is a fentanyl and heroin addiction, by the way, in my case.

 

[Tnich55]

Yep, withdrawals can be funny, sometimes worse or not as worse. Consider yourself lucky you got the good part of it! I am glad to hear they went away, nothing like starting school and having to go to class feeling like horrible shit.

I had a very similar situation when I went to college, though it was further in maybe my second year or so. Your probably feeling a lot of different feelings as well; excitement, nervousness, a little anxiousness about moving away going to school. How did you manage the whole move in feeling sore and exhausted.. I would have hated that shit.

I will add, being away from a steady supply will help your cravings big time. You will definitely want it, but something about knowing you just have no way to get it is so helpful (this was my case for sure). Of course that all depends how far from home you are, where you are, etc. For me pills were rare where I went to school and heroin was never heard of. Weed and alcohol were plentiful, other various things popped up like psychedelics, molly, all that.

Enjoy your college years! I myself graduated one year ago and like they always say it flies by and you definitely miss it. I don't miss class though I do have to get up at 6 every morning and am not home from work until the earliest 5-6pm .. so work isn't exactly fun. :D

 

[SaosinEngaged]

Withdrawals can vary tremendously from person to person and habit to habit. Sometimes you'll be doing a lot and the withdrawals won't be quite as bad as you think they should be, and other times you won't be doing quite as much and the withdrawals will hit you like a mack truck.

All I can say is, I've never thrown up from withdrawals in my entire 4 years of active dependence. My worst withdrawal was from 300-350mg of Oxycodone per day for about 6-7 months, and as sick as I was, I never puked. I guess I have an iron stomach. This is rather unusual as most people with habits like that are hugging the toilet. However, for me, the insomnia is far more severe and pronounced than most people seem to experience. Even from a habit of about 150mg per day, if I cold turkey, I won't get an hour of sleep for a week - 10 days without medication. Not even a wink.

Also, just a couple weeks ago I was on vacation with my wife and family. I only had enough Oxy with me for about a fourth of the trip. I tapered down to about 3-4 30's a day, and cold turkeyed from there. The very notion that I absolutely COULD NOT get anything made the withdrawals much EASIER somehow, and the cravings stopped after the 2nd day. Something about your mind subconsciously knowing there is NO POSSIBLE WAY to pick up somehow helps tremendously, as the other poster mentioned. IME, it's absolutely true.